Pouch for cleaning a golf ball or the like

ABSTRACT

A pouch for cleaning articles such as golf balls characterized by a casing constructed to form two interconnecting compartments. An opening in one of the compartments is used for loading a golf ball therein to be cleaned and a restricted passageway between the compartments is designed to allow passage of the golf ball from one compartment to another. The casing is constructed from embossed thermoplastic material or the like with a lining permanently attached to the casing within each of the compartments. The lining serves the purpose of retaining different materials introduced into each of the compartments to facilitate cleaning and drying of the golf balls as the pouch is worked back and forth.

United States Patent [191 Cunningham et al.

[ POUCH FOR CLEANING A GOLF BALL OR THE LIKE [76] Inventors: Raymond C. Cunningham; Regis A. Cunningham, both of 16 Berlin Rd., Jeannette, Pa. 15644 22 Filed: Dec. 15, 1972 21 App]. No.: 315,441

[52] US. Cl 15/160, 15/21 A, 15/210 R, 15/ 104.94 [51] Int. Cl. A46b 7/08, A63b 47/04 [58] Field of Search 15/160, 21 A, 210, 244, 15/97, 104.93, 104.94, 118

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,968,825 l/l961 Wetherby 15/210 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 8,536 4/1905 Great Britain 15/21 A 7,955 3/1914 Great Britain 15/21 A [451 Apr. 30, 1974 Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman Attorney, Agent, or FirmBrown, Murray, Flick &

Peckham ABSTRACT A pouch for cleaning articles such as golf balls characterized by a casing constructed to form two interconnecting compartments. An opening in one of the compartments is used for loading a golf ball therein to be cleaned and a restricted passageway between the compartments is designed to allow passage of the golf ball from one compartment to another. The casing is constructed from embossed thermoplastic material or the like with a lining permanently attached to the casing within each of the compartments. The lining serves the purpose of retaining different materials introduced into each'of the compartments to facilitate cleaning and drying of the golf balls as the pouch is worked back and forth.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures POUCH FOR CLEANING A GOLF BALL OR THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved construction for a pouch employed to clean golf balls and the like articles. More particularly, the invention is addressed to providing a pouch having two compartments, one of which is used to clean a golf ball and the second of which is used for the purpose of drying the surface of the ball after it has been cleaned.

Players, when participating in the game of golf, frequently find it desirable to remove dirt and other foreign objects from their golf balls for any one of a number of reasons including maintaining the flight characteristics of the golf ball. In some instances, golf ball cleaning devices have been provided at various locations on the golf course for use by the player when in the vicinity of the device. There are, however, many conditions that occur whereby a player finds it inconvenient or impossible to make use of these devices such as situations when a substantial distance separates the player and the device and also when the device is actually inoperative. Most serious players of golf find it mandatory to carry with them a cloth or some other article for frequently cleaning the golf balls without rely- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pouch for cleaning golf balls and similar articles in an effective manner and then drying the surface of the ball to maintain it free of water or other substances used incident to cleaning the ball.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pouch having a size and shape such that a user can conveniently hold and manipulate the pouch in his hand.

It is a still further object of the present invention'to provide a pouch for cleaning golf balls and the like having two compartments which are interconnected by a restricted neck portion. An opening in the pouch permits loading of the golf balls into the pouch where it passes from one compartment through the restricted neck portion and into the second compartment having a preselected size and shape such that working back and forth of the golf ball in the second compartment effects cleaning thereof while, at the same time, effects exercising of the players hand to avoid muscle cramps and the like.

According to one form of the present invention, there is provided a pouch for cleaning golf balls or the like comprising a casing forming two interconnecting compartments, an opening in one of the compartments used for loading the golf balls into a compartment and thence through a restricted neck portion and into the second compartment, and a lining permanently attached to the casing and arranged within each of the compartments, the lining being characterized by having a bristle-like surface to facilitate removal of foreign matter from the golf ball. In its preferred form, the restricted neck portion is of such dimension that it is slightly smaller than the greatest dimension of the golf ball, thereby avoiding unintentional discharge of the golf ball from the chamber.

In still a further preferred form of the invention, there is provided a combination of a cleaning compound material loaded into the cleaning compartment of the pouch and a drying agent applied to the liner material in the remaining compartment of the pouch.

These features and objects of the present invention as well as others will be more fully understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings, in which: i

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a pouch for cleaning golf balls embodying the features of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

With reference now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a pouch 10 having a general hourglass silhouette formed by a casing. The material for the casing can be selected from many presently-available materials including embossed thermoplastic material which provides desirable characteristics such as prohibiting the passage of fluid from within the pouch to the outside surface, easy to maintain in ones hand without excessive slippage and may be finished with a pleasing appearance. The casing material 11 is cut into a shape and formed in such a manner as to define a first compartment 12 in the pouch. An opening 13 at one end of the casing provides an entrance for a golf ball into the first compartment. The casing is formed with a second compartment 14 which is joined to the compartment 12 by an opening defined as a restricted neck portion 15. Preferably, the opening 15 is somewhat smaller than the largest dimension of the standard golf ball size which is indicated at 16.

The casing 11 is lined throughout each of the compartments l2 and 14 with a lining 17 which is used to support bristles l8. The-length of the bristles 18 is relatively short, of the order of Va inch, and they along with the lining material may be made solely from plastic, or other forms of bristles may be embedded in a cloth material lining.

It is important to note the different size or volume of the compartment 12 with respect to the compartment 14. In this regard, it is preferred to make the compartment 14 substantially larger than the compartment 12 due to the fact that cleaning of the ball takes place in compartment 14 where in order to make use of the most effective cleaning action, the larger surface area is provided by the lining l7 and bristles 18. To facilitate cleaning of the ball, it is preferred to introduce a suitable compound material or even water into the compartment 14. This compound material would most desirably have water as a fluid medium. Such material would be introduced into the compartment 14 at periodic intervals, e.g., once a month. After the ball has been introduced into compartment 14, the player works the pouch in a back and forth manner to abrade the balls surface by bringing the ball into contact with the greatest possible bristled surface within the chamber 14. In doing this, the player also achieves a highly beneficial exercise to his hand, and frequently this will avoid cramping or other undesirable physical side effects sometimes incurred by golfers. After the cleaning of the ball has been completed, the ball is urged through the restricted neck portion 15 into the first compartment 12. In doing this, the balls surface is stripped of the moisture adhering thereto. The compartment 12 also contains the lining material 17 around its inside walls. It is preferred to introduce a drying agent into the chamber 12. Agents such as naptha will quickly and effectively remove residual amounts of water from thesurface of the ball. The use of such drying agents requires their introduction into the chamber 12 on an almost daily basis preferably just prior to an anticipated use of the golf cleaning pouch. After the ball has been dried in chamber 12, it is discharged from the pouch by applying a light pressure at the restricted neck portion 15 to expel the ball through the opening 13.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various changes as to the shape of the pouch may be provided without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with a certain specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim as our invention:

l. A pouch for cleaning articles such as golf balls and the like comprising a casing forming two interconnecting compartments, an opening in one of said compartments for loading an article to be cleaned therein, the

casing defining a restricted passageway between said compartments for the transfer of an article from one compartment to the other compartment, and a lining arranged within each of said compartments, said lining having surfaces to provide an abrading action to remove foreign matter from the article being cleaned when located in one of said compartments.

2. The pouch for cleaning articles according to claim 1 wherein said restricted neck portion is characterized by having dimensions so as to provide an opening less than the opening required for free passage of the article to be cleaned.

3. The pouch according to claim 2 wherein the volume defined within one of said compartments exceeds the volume defined within the other of said compartments.

4. The pouch according to claim 3 wherein said casing is characterized as defining a form corresponding to the silhouette of an hourglass.

5. The pouch according to claim 2 wherein said lining is further defined to include bristles supported by said lining.

6. The pouch according to claim 5 wherein said lining is permanently attached to said casing within the area defined by said compartments.

7. The pouch according to claim 6 wherein said bristles are further defined as formed from plastic material and having a length not exceeding 54: inch.

8. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein said casing consists of an embossed thermoplastic material. 

1. A pouch for cleaning articles such as golf balls and the like comprising a casing forming two interconnecting compartments, an opening in one of said compartments for loading an article to be cleaned therein, the casing defining a restricted passageway between said compartments for the transfer of an article from one compartment to the other compartment, and a lining arranged within each of said compartments, said lining having surfaces to provide an abrading action to remove foreign matter from the article being cleaned when located in one of said compartments.
 2. The pouch for cleaning articles according to claim 1 wherein said restricted neck portion is characterized by having dimensions so as to provide an opening less than the opening required for free passage of the article to be cleaned.
 3. The pouch according to claim 2 wherein the volume defined within one of said compartments exceeds the volume defined within the other of said compartments.
 4. The pouch according to claim 3 wherein said casing is characterized as defining a form corresponding to the silhouette of an hourglass.
 5. The pouch according to claim 2 wherein said lining is further defined to include bristles supported by said lining.
 6. The pouch according to claim 5 wherein said lining is permanently attached to said casing within the area defined by said compartments.
 7. The pouch according to claim 6 wherein said bristles are further defined as formed from plastic material and having a length not exceeding 1/8 inch.
 8. The pouch according to claim 7 wherein said casing consists of an embossed thermoplastic material. 